Mayor won't back ditching Gus Wortham Golf Course

Published 6:30 am, Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Mayor Bill White on Tuesday all but ruled out use of the Gus Wortham Golf Course on Houston's East End as the site for a new soccer complex.

"I'm not going to support something over the strong objection of the council member from that district, period," White said after Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, who represents the East End, said the golf course is not the right place for the soccer facility.

City officials have been exploring the idea of converting the course into a youth-soccer facility as part of a deal to keep the Houston Dynamo, the Major League Soccer champions, from moving to the suburbs.

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The team, which has played at the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium, has requested a new stadium and related youth-soccer complex as a condition of staying in Houston.

About a dozen of Alvarado's constituents told the council Tuesday that converting the 100-year-old golf course, one of just three city-owned courses inside Loop 610, would be a disservice to the community.

"Wortham is an idea of convenience — it sacrifices the future simply because it's there and it's easy," said Barney Giesen, 62, who lives near the golf course.

Several council members said they are committed to supporting youth soccer and keeping the Dynamo in Houston but suggested the city look for another site. They said the Wortham course is historically significant and provides much-needed green space and wildlife habitat.

Other options

White said other sites are under consideration.

But finding a suitable site inside the city, he said, will be a challenge.

High costs likely will compel the city to find a publicly owned site, White said, and some properties suggested by council members might require costly environmental remediation. Though it's unlikely a large-enough site could be found for a new stadium as well as the youth complex, White said, the locations should be reasonably close together and perhaps linked by transit.

Asked by Alvarado whether the Wortham golf course was "off the table" as a site for the soccer fields, White repeated his earlier statement that he would not support it over strong opposition from the community and the district council member.

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Several suburban cities also are discussing bids to lure the Dynamo. Andy Icken, planning and development director with the city's Public Works and Engineering Department, has said the city's goal is to present a package to the Dynamo by early March.